


but then he's still left with his hands

by notdenisa



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cheating, F/M, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-25
Updated: 2016-01-25
Packaged: 2018-05-16 02:28:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5810059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notdenisa/pseuds/notdenisa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“This is important, you know.” she says, finally looking at him. “And it’s not like you were invited.” </p><p>“I’m important.” he whines, kissing her ear.</p>
            </blockquote>





	but then he's still left with his hands

**Author's Note:**

> the original title of this was “the rhaegar targaryen aesthetic pinterest board fic” but that’s way too long.
> 
> title from “boot theory” by richard siken mostly because rhaegar was sad and died in a river, but also because it’s pinned in my rhaegar targaryen aesthetic pinterest board. 
> 
> there's a tiny bit of abuse mentioned, but that's between rhaegars parents, so.

Rhaegar presses his forehead to Lyanna’s shoulder and closes his eyes, inhaling deeply. She smells like fabric softener and cigarettes. The cotton of her t-shirt is soft where it touches his skin. The room is quiet save for the rhythmic click-click-click of her fingers hitting the laptop keys. She’s writing something for school--a paper, perhaps. It’s not the first time it hits him just how young she is.

 

They met a week before her eighteenth birthday. She tagged along with her brothers to a party Arthur Dayne threw for one reason or another. Elia wasn’t there, she wasn’t one for parties, or at least the kind of parties Rhaegar and his friends tended to frequent. So when Lyanna snatched a cigarette right from between his teeth, took a deep drag and blew the smoke in his face, he was charmed on the spot. Even when she ran away in a fit of giggles without so much as giving him her name.

 

He shifts a bit to get closer to her. They are sitting on the floor, their backs propped against her bed and it’s not exactly comfortable. He kisses the skin of her shoulder right where the short sleeve of her t-shirt ends, then kisses her neck and the place behind her ear. She hums and absentmindedly pats his face without looking up from her laptop. He groans, burying his face in her hair.

 

“This is important, you know.” she says, finally looking at him. “And it’s not like you were invited.”

 

“I’m important.” he whines, kissing her ear. “And bored, and hungry.”

 

“Again, not invited.” she says, shoving him away with her shoulder. “Bring me something to eat from the kitchen, everyone should be asleep. You’ll have my attention when I finish this paper.”

 

It’s a sign that he truly _is_ bored and hungry, because he simply stands up and does what she says. He tries to be as quiet as possible, fully aware of both Benjen and Ned, somewhere in the house, hopefully asleep. He shouldn’t be here, he _really shouldn’t be here._ But he couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning. He thought about texting Elia, thought about writing _come over i’m bored and lonely,_ or, _we should probably talk_ , or _i have something important to tell you el, and it can’t be over the phone_ , but he didn’t. Instead he got into his car and drove here, and then got into Lyanna’s room through a fucking window, like a fucking teenager.

 

“My room is on the first floor, and you’re just being a baby.” she said on the phone when he insisted on using the door. “My parents and brothers are asleep, I can’t risk waking them up, so it’s either the window, or you drove here for nothing.”

 

He finds leftover casserole in the fridge, and figures it has to be good enough cold, microwave a far away dream of someone trying not to wake the entire house up. He shuffles back to the room and settles next to Lyanna, handing her a fork. She takes it and scoops a bit of the casserole, barely sparing him a look. She chews and hums thoughtfully, murmuring a quiet “It’s actually not that bad when it’s cold.” and continues typing.

 

He eats quietly, looking over her shoulder, not really reading. After a while he starts feeding her and she accepts each bite without so much as a thank you, too focused on the laptop screen. It should bother him, being ignored like that. It _would_ bother him, were it anyone else, but with her it just makes him feel strangely domestic. He likes the way she lets him just hover around, doesn’t ask questions, just lets him sit there and _be_ . He thinks about Elia, the way everything about her irks him lately, the way everything about him irks _her_. She doesn’t know about Lyanna, couldn't possibly, since there’s nothing to know about, not really, _not yet_.

 

He sets the empty bowl on the floor, closes his eyes and leans back, his head hitting the soft mattress of the bed. It takes a while, but he finally hears her close her laptop. They sit like that for a moment, the silence filling the room, until Lyanna sighs loudly and nudges his leg with her knee.

 

“So,” she says, her tone light, her hand warm on his thigh, smoothing out the cotton of his sweatpants, “is there a particular reason why you decided to drive here in the middle of the night?”

 

“Not really,” he replies, eyes still closed. “just couldn’t sleep. Thought you could use some company.”

 

“Well, there must be a reason why you couldn’t sleep-” she starts, but he cuts her off before she can continue.

 

“No reason. None at all.”

 

“Rhae, I really think we should talk about this.” she says, and it makes him finally look at her.

 

“What if I don’t want to talk? What if there’s nothing to talk about?” he asks, trying and failing not to let his irritation show in his voice.

 

“We both know there’s plenty to talk about, maybe not with me, but still. Talking about things helps.” she says, playing with the hem of his t-shirt. “I’m just worried, you know.”

 

“I know, but there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll fix it. I’ll fix everything so you’ll never have to worry.” he says, voice too earnest, and takes her hand in his, interlaces their fingers.

 

She huffs and shifts, sitting closer to him. “I can still worry if want to,” she pauses, looking helplessly at their hands, “I’d worry less if you just talked to me.”

 

“We’re talking right now.”

 

“You know what I mean. So don’t play dumb.” She leans her head on his shoulder. “How is your family? Is everything okay?”

 

“It’s fine. Mom doesn’t want us to visit him, and I understand, but Dany is just too young to get it. She doesn’t want to explain to them why he’s there, and I don’t really know how to explain to a fucking six year old why her father is in a mental institution. Viserys is no help either.” he says and remembers Elia holding a sobbing Dany to her chest, whispering into her ear as their father was being taken away by the police, their mother sobbing on the steps, clutching her bloody nose. He doesn't remember calling the cops, just how heavy the phone felt in his shaking, sweaty hands.

 

He shakes his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

 

“You’ll figure it out, eventually. I know you will.” Lyanna says, and something in her voice makes him believe her. He puts his hand on her soft cheek. She smiles, looking into his eyes. He leans in and kisses her, not thinking about Elia at all.

  


**Author's Note:**

> well, this got sad really fast.
> 
> i fucked around with their ages a lot. lya is 18, rhaegar is like 21 i guess, dany is obviously six and viserys probably 15.
> 
> and yeah, aerys is in a mental hospital here, huh.
> 
> [my tumblr](http://dondaario.tumblr.com/)


End file.
